Obituary: Russell Wallace Lord
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May 13, 1929 – April 18, 2026
Russell Wallace “Wally” Lord, 96, of Aspen Colorado, died on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at Roaring Fork Senior Living in Glenwood Springs, CO. Wally was born on May 13, 1929 in Rutland, VT to Russell and Roberta Lord. He later moved with his mother and younger brother, Keith, to West Grove, PA, where he spent the remainder of his childhood.
Wally earned degrees from Roanoke College and the University of Pennsylvania. He served in the Navy for four years and served as a Communications Officer overseas. After leaving the Navy, he worked for IBM and RCA in the Washington, DC area. In the 1960s, he visited Aspen and fell in love with the mountains and skiing. Wally decided to build his own house and make Aspen his forever home.
Once in Aspen, he combined his technical skills with his love of skiing by joining the Aspen Ski Company where, in addition to teaching new skiers and other roles, he supported the electronic timing systems for high profile international ski races where he earned the nickname “Father Time”. He later shared his knowledge by teaching computer classes at a local community college.
Skiing remained Wally’s passion for the next fifty-plus years and he was hitting the slopes up until his 91st year. Wally was also a long time member of the Aspen Elks Lodge #224 where he made lifelong friends and participated in numerous activities including volunteer work supporting ski events for disabled veterans.
Wally is survived by a brother, Keith M. Lord, of Wilmington, DE; a sister, Martha Welch, of Rutland, VT; nephews, nieces, great nieces and great grand nephews and nieces. All of them learned from him a love of the mountains and skiing, and how important it is to live your life doing what you love. He will be dearly missed by his family “back east” who consider him the “coolest” uncle ever.
Services will be private. A celebration of Wally’s life will be scheduled in the future.
